I'm amazed at the European prices, honestly. 4 years ago my wife got a 3-series through the military sales program while she was stationed at Lakenheath AB in England. She paid $40k for a car that would have cost over £40k... about a 39% savings.

sorry for the threadjack, but it seems that it may be a pain getting parts, but one could put a lot of cash into custom modding an M5 to add missing features before they got to the actual cost of a stock car in europe.

I, for one, would appreciate a DIY for the retrofit of the automatic high beam stalk. Or at least a list of parts required.

Mike

Per what wdimagineer posted it is not easy to install the stalk. Also I find that you get most of the benefit with just coding the feature without the stalk. It can be switched on and off through iDrive. The only time the stalk is useful is if you start the car in daylight and then drive into the night. In this scenario auto headlamps will switch on without auto high beams. To correct you have to switch headlights on and off. If you start the car at night this is not an issue.

Per what wdimagineer posted it is not easy to install the stalk. Also I find that you get most of the benefit with just coding the feature without the stalk. It can be switched on and off through iDrive. The only time the stalk is useful is if you start the car in daylight and then drive into the night. In this scenario auto headlamps will switch on without auto high beams. To correct you have to switch headlights on and off. If you start the car at night this is not an issue.

Thanks guys. I've been debating whether to do this at all, do it "factory" with replacement of the stalk, or just code it.

I am set up to code - I've done the DVD in motion, remove legal disclaimers, etc.

I've replaced the headlamp switch to the European part so I have the rear fog lamps. I had the AHB on my previous 7 series and found it "neat" because I like the technology but if I'm perfectly honest with myself I didn't find it all that useful. I guess when I drive at night I'm usually in urban or suburban environments and usually it's not so late that there's no traffic so I don't get as much use out of the AHB as some others may.

That's what I thought , but wanted to see if you figured out some magic
I am assuming you write your VO using e-sys and not via a revised order
f via BMW NA ?
This is what keeps me from retrofitting the stalk as it would create additional headache every time the dealer wants/needs to code your car (ie have revert/reset all coded modules)
But good work !!

That's what I thought , but wanted to see if you figured out some magic
I am assuming you write your VO using e-sys and not via a revised order
f via BMW NA ?
This is what keeps me from retrofitting the stalk as it would create additional headache every time the dealer wants/needs to code your car (ie have revert/reset all coded modules)
But good work !!

Correct - but BMW's systems tend to read the car first, so I haven't had an issue. ISTA thinks the car has 5AC and doesn't throw any errors.

It's a peculiar omission on BMW's part for sure. As are a few other things.

I complained to my dealership today (apparently others have as well) - the seats are 2 ways away from being perfect! If they address this in the LCI I am forcing BMW Canada to give me a new car at cost and purchase mine back at a fare market price.

I love personalizing my cars. The F10 M5 is no exception. Now that everyone and their grandmother seems to have one, it was clear to me that I needed to start modifying some things to make it unique. So what better way to accomplish this than a near-complete Euro makeover and some terrific aftermarket accessories?

My car is being featured at Performance Technic's Customer Appreciation Day this Saturday, December 15, in Pleasanton, CA. Stop by if you want to meet me and the M5 in person. My car is also being photographed, so better photos are coming (showing parts I don't have pictures of yet, as well), and I'll update the thread once I have them.

Thanks. Me too. I think it ties in with the B&O speaker grilles better than the other options.

Hi, Love what you've done to the M5, quality and classy!

I have just been given week 11 as my UK build slot for Alpine white, full Sahkir orange with piano black trim & carbon ceramic brakes.

I have been swinging between trace aluminium and piano black for weeks now and still really unsure. I have just seen that you switched your trim from piano black to aluminium and it looks really good. Can I ask why you went to all the trouble of switching, what was it you didnt like with piano black?

I have just been given week 11 as my UK build slot for Alpine white, full Sahkir orange with piano black trim & carbon ceramic brakes.

I have been swinging between trace aluminium and piano black for weeks now and still really unsure. I have just seen that you switched your trim from piano black to aluminium and it looks really good. Can I ask why you went to all the trouble of switching, what was it you didnt like with piano black?

Cheers.

the more i come back to this post the more i think aluminum looks much better with Sakhir.

great mods,awesome car
I have two pieces of then new BMW M6 steering wheel with: -Steering wheel heater and Lane-change warning, complete with attachment parts. the steering wheel is brand new and can be also mounted on BMW F10/F11
Im asking 500 euro plus shipping for one piece.
let me know if someone is interested